Smart Auto Insurance Blog

According to the article “7 Desirable Auto Car Insurance Companies” by Matthew Keegan on saycampuslife.com, the insurance commissioner in any given state authorizes who can write auto insurance policies.  The article discusses 7 auto insurance companies that have a national presence with excellent reputations and competitive prices.

The companies discussed in the article include State Farm, Allstate, Government Employees Insurance Company, Progressive, USAA, Liberty Mutual and Nationwide Insurance.  All of these companies are well known and provide an array of benefits.  Having auto insurance is required in most states and important to have in case you are in an accident.

When you do decide to shop around with these or other companies, be sure you are obtaining quotes based on comparable coverage to ensure your comparison is fair.  Most auto insurance companies review your credit as part of determining your rate, so it’s a good idea to pull your credit report and have a good understanding of where you stand.

In the Detroit Free Press, Kathleen Gray reports that 12 Michigan auto insurance companies have agreed to freeze their rates for a year. However, 96 other insurers have not agreed to the rate freeze as of the March 1st deadline. Governor Jennifer Granholm requested that insurers freeze their auto insurance premiums for a year while the state legislature works on auto insurance reform. 

The insurance companies that have agreed to freeze their auto insurance rates are:

• American Bankers’ Insurance Company of Florida
• American International South Insurance Company
• American Reliable Insurance
• Wolverine Mutual Insurance Company
• Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company
• Great Lakes Casualty Insurance Company
• Electric Insurance Company
• Essentia Insurance Company
• Meritplan Insurance Company
• IDS Property Casualty Insurance Company
• Liberty Mutual Property Insurance Company
• Merchants Mutual Insurance Company

According to Nevada Department of Insurance (DOI) Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance company received approval to increase their Nevada auto insurance rates by an avg. of 6.9%.  In addition, Liberty Insurance Co.  received approval for a 7.0% avg. increase and First Liberty Insurance Co. 7.6%.  These rate increases were each slightly lower than what was requested by the companies respectively.

The three insurance companies above, which collectively make up Liberty Mutual Insurance Companies Group, maintain a 2.9% market share of all private-passenger automobile insurance in Nevada.

These private-passenger auto insurance rates became effective on December 15, 1008.

According to Jeffrey Krasner in the Boston Globe, Progressive Insurance’s website recently showed incorrect comparisons with other auto insurance companies, making their rates appear cheaper than they really are. A computer glitch compared the price of Progressive’s 6-month policy with 12-month policies from Commerce Insurance or Liberty Mutual. (Unlike most Massachusetts auto insurance companies, Progressive sells policies in 6-month increments.)

Progressive spokesperson Cristy Colt stresses that they weren’t intentionally trying to mislead consumers; rather, the system is meant to divide competitors’ prices in half to show fair auto insurance quote comparisons. For now, the rate comparison tool on their website is down, and Progressive is sending letters to inform about 21,000 consumers whose decisions may have been affected by the error.

(Photo credit: wallyg under CC 2.0)